the altar, suddenly
ceased; and, as the last fumes of the incense circled upwards to the
blackened roof, there arose another and a solitary voice, evidently of
lay intonation, and deepened by that persuasive earnestness of devotion
which, like an electric chain, connects in holy feeling all sects of the
Christian church. It spoke in the fulness of gratitude, and in the
humbleness of prayer; and although the dialect was tinged with village
barbarism, and its thankfulness addressed to the Black Virgin, I heard
in its simple solemnity only the beauty of holiness; and, overlooking
the visible shrine, beheld in its ultimate object the tribunal of divine
mercy!

The devout speaker was one of a peasant family who had entered the
chapel unobserved, during my contemplation of its glittering
decorations. He was apparently a Bavarian farmer, somewhat advanced in
years, and wearing, in addition to his richly-substantial holiday
attire, a deep green shade over his eyes, which accounted for the
character of his thanksgivings to the miraculous image. "I thank thee, O
most benign and saintly Maria!" had been the tenour of his prayer, "for
the scattered and glorious gifts of Heaven, which had become as vain
things to my soul, till thy grace renewed them in its knowledge. I thank
thee for the summer skies and the green pastures--for the footsteps
which no longer crave a helping hand--for the restored faces of my
beloved ones--and, above all, O holiest Virgin! I glorify thy name in
gratitude for the precious means by which the blessing of sight hath
been again vouchsafed me!"

This last mode of expression excited my curiosity, and when the little
group of votaries had concluded their ceremonies, had affixed their
consecrated tapers at the shrine, and deposited their oblations with its
officiating priests, I followed their joyful footsteps out of the
chapel, and was again struck by the delicious transition from the heated
and incense-laden atmosphere of its interior, to the pure, balmy April
air without, gushing with the sweetness of the passing shower.

The ceremonies of the day were still far from their conclusion. The
historical painter of Altenoetting was in attendance in the arcade,
bearing the votive picture which was to perpetuate the latest miracle of
the Black Lady; and as far as I could observe or ascertain of the
sacerdotal hangman of the consecrated gallery, the oldest and most
weather-stained of the pictures was made to yie